


Deviants

by GRAVEOFNYX



Category: Naruto
Genre: A Plot Twist Unlike Any Others You've Read Before, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Rivalry, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:41:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 11,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29277144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GRAVEOFNYX/pseuds/GRAVEOFNYX
Summary: When an unnerving tattoo is discovered on the skin of Temari’s thigh, a sluggish and slightly respectable Shikamaru gives in to his curiosity and begins investigating her circumstance—only to discover that this mystery is much more sinister than anyone could have foreseen.
Relationships: Nara Shikamaru & Temari, Nara Shikamaru/Temari
Comments: 24
Kudos: 15





	1. Epigraph

**Epigraph**

  
  
"Your eyes, 

So full of pain and passion,

So full of lies.

So full of pain and passion, 

Soledad, 

So deeply scarred,

So still with silent cries."

\- Hughes, _Soledad_

An excerpt from the story:

"Shikamaru wasn't one to be so easily shaken but upon the further undoing of the tangled mess that was this mystery, he realized that the situation was more unnerving and grave than he could've ever imagined. And at that moment, with shaky palms, he could only shield Temari's crestfallen eyes from their newly uncovered horrors. The malevolence of their recent discovery practically pricking through the atmosphere, and past the anxiety, one emotion remained: dread."  
  
  
  


Updates weekly. 


	2. Versus

CHAPTER ONE → VERSUS  
  
  
  
  


The social hierarchy in Konoha was intense. Your last name was your only treasure and those with ones of lesser importance found themselves coming up short on the social ladder. Shikamaru Nara was one of the people that found themselves seated directly in the middle of this ranking, however.

The last name Nara had gained him respect amongst his crowd, and even in good standing with a few of the Teels. His father, Shikaku Nara, was head of the operation which built the bridge that connected Konoha to other cities within the Land of Fire, and that was enough to establish his entire family as people of moderate importance.

Devs, short for Deviants, were the poorer of the two rivals—which was the main thing that separated them. Teels, also a shortened form of the word Genteel, found themselves on the luckier side of things.

Devs were known for being delinquents. Cigarette-smoking, fishnet-wearing, tousled-hair-having delinquents. Or at least that's how the Teels saw them. Shikamaru had come to believe that the rivalry was dumb and that once outside of Konoha, silly titles such as Devs and Teels would no longer matter.

However, he lived in Konoha at the moment and had never been outside of it, at that. He knew better than to denounce the rivalry publicly, Shikamaru was sure that both sides would place his head upon a pike and flaunt it at the city's self-titled entrance sign if he did so.

"What's up Shika?" His friend, Naruto greeted him as he—along with the rest of Shikamaru's friends, stood near his locker.

Shikamaru winced at the nickname Naruto had given him, to Shikamaru it sounded like one befitting of a teenage girl that refused to wear any color other than pink, rather than himself. "Yo." He responded before closing the locker.

"I completely forgot about Kurenai's homework, could you let me copy yours?" He questioned without a hint of shame evident in his voice—as 'forgetting' to do his homework and copying Shikamaru's was routine for him.

"Naruto you dumbass! You never do your work!" Sakura exclaimed, raising her hand and using it to land a painful slap across Naruto's nape.

"Ow, Sakura! What are you? A man or something?!" He groaned before rubbing the spot which had fallen victim to Sakura's strength, a scowl replacing his once sheepish expression.

"Bad move," Kiba muttered, watching as the already angry girl became livid at Naruto's remark, which she took as an insult.

"Sakura, you might want to calm down," Tenten mumbled, eyes drifting off past Sakura's head towards a certain group of people headed for their direction.

"Calm down?! Why would I-" Sakura spun around on her heel where she immediately blanched as she caught sight of the group in question.

Shikamaru could tell from the Konoha High School letterman jackets, tennis skirts, expensive shoes, and dapper hair that the group was of the Teel variety.

That was the thing, Konoha was still a small town at the end of the day. A small town with one high school, one middle school, and one elementary school. Both groups from either side of the tracks had to come together amid the common denominator that was their education.

Everyone knew that Sakura had an unrequited crush on this handsome Teel, namely, Sasuke Uchiha. It was truly hopeless, as no one had ever heard of a Teel dating a Dev. Besides, he was already in a relationship with Karin—a fiery redhead with matching, piercing eyes. She was a cute girl too, though, Sasuke didn't seem too interested in her. To Sasuke, Sakura was probably another bottom-of-the-barrel, Deviant broad.

Shikamaru recognized the group of Teels as being Ino, Sasuke, Neji, Hinata, Karin, Shino, Gaara, and Temari. That Temari had managed to make quite a name for herself. Shikamaru once heard that she's rejected every single guy that's ever tried to get at her.

"Kankuro, what's up?" Gaara stopped near Shikamaru's locker as he greeted his half-brother. He was one of the few Teels that didn't act like he was above Devs. However, Shikamaru knew that he would rep his side if push came to shove. Kankuro, Gaara, and Temari were all related—yet Kankuro was a Dev, unlike his siblings. No one knew why and no one cared to ask.

"Nothing, where are y'all headed?" Kankuro asked curtly, he and his siblings were fairly alright with each other, but far from close.

"To the drive-in, Karui wants to take the gang to see some movie," Gaara responded with an exasperated sigh.

At the mention of Karui's name, Choji and Kiba both heaved a contrasting, dreamy one. She was a brown-skinned Teel with big eyes of a unique hue of yellow, and everyone acknowledged her as being wholly stunning.

Kankuro, acknowledging Kiba and Choji's admiration for the girl, followed up with his next question. "Where's Karui now?"

"She's coming right this way, actually," Gaara stated, and in turn, the resounding of expensive sneakers pattering against tiled floors alerted everyone of the girl's presence.

Her tennis skirt flowed freely as she sashayed over. Clad in a white, long-sleeved t-shirt underneath a lime-colored sweater vest; which contrasted nicely with her skin tone. She was also captain of the cheerleading team, archetypal for a pretty, popular girl.

The gang of Teels, which had stopped behind Gaara, proceeded to walk towards a mutual rendezvous point in the hallway to meet with Konoha High's golden girl, Karui.

The other Teels hadn't even acknowledged the presence of Shikamaru and the rest of his friends. Shikamaru assumed that was their way of being cordial since the two groups were on school property. He knew that when nightfall came, those same Teels would begin terrorizing them as usual.


	3. Apprehension

CHAPTER TWO → APPREHENSION  
  
  
  
  
  


"There's nothing to do around here," Sakura complained, dropping her cigarette butt to the ground before stepping on it and fizzling it out with her shoe.

"Right," Tenten agreed, boredom audible in her monotone and slightly irate voice. 

"Instead of complaining all the time, how about you come up with something for us to do!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Don't yell at us!"

"Would you all just shut up?" Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose as he spoke to the trio.

"Shika, wait a second before you get in one of your moods," Naruto began, placing a finger underneath his chin as contemplated their options. "Didn't Gaara mention something about a drive-in movie? Let's go to it," He finally suggested.

"Yeah, but the drive-in movie is on the Teels' side of Konoha," Choji stated, doubtful of the safeness of Naruto's suggestion.

Konoha was a town that had almost two of every recreational establishment. Downtown Konoha was understood as Teel territory while uptown and the abandoned areas were designated Dev area. However, Teels seemed to loiter around anywhere they pleased—meaning that as a Dev, you weren't truly safe from their wrath even in your own territory.

Most establishments were located downtown; therefore, the Devs only had a few hangout spots which were deemed 'safe.' Shikamaru and his friends usually hung out at the small bistro located beside the only convenience store within the uptown area. Sometimes, if they were feeling impish, however, they would sneak into different establishments located downtown.

"Don't act like we've never snuck into a drive-in movie before." Kankuro shrugged impassively, eyes shut languidly as he reached to pull a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket.

"I think we should go for it." Sakura crossed her arms before nodding in a satisfied manner.

"You just want to see Sasuke," Tenten stated in a sardonically playful manner, clearly fond of teasing Sakura about her crush on the Teel.

"Shut up, Tenten!" Sakura exclaimed before slapping a hand over the girl's mouth and sheepishly smiling at the boys across from them.

"Well, Shikamaru? What do you think?" Naruto turned to face him, as well as the others. An air of finality laced the atmosphere, letting the male in question know that whatever he said would be the final decision.

"Sure, whatever." Shikamaru glowered, manifesting a subconscious eye roll.

"Should we invite Bushy Brow?" Naruto asked just as they had begun walking towards downtown.

"He'll just say no because we're sneaking into a drive-in," Sakura stated, most likely being right about their friend with the unique eyebrows.

"Gaara didn't seem too excited about the movie, it's probably some boring, sappy romance film," Kiba muttered.

"Gaara doesn't seem too excited about anything." Kankuro corrected.

The group of seven somehow managed to stealthily slip into downtown Konoha, surprisingly, going unnoticed. Perhaps, it was due to their plan that consisted of Naruto driving his mother's car to meet up with the other six in a secluded alleyway. This was because Naruto and his mom's car were entirely Teel-passing, despite Naruto's obnoxious behavior and the family's low income.

Sneaking into drive-in movies was probably the easiest of all the establishments they snuck into, as most people tend to mind their own business by not peering into other's cars. If this had not been the case, Shikamaru knew that he and his posse would've been under immediate suspicion.

The whole gang looked like Devs, like tough delinquents. Even Sakura and Tenten were fearsome in appearance.

Sakura, despite her bubblegum pink hair, was immensely intimidating with a scar just atop her right cheekbone, which faded into her smooth, pale skin at the ends. She was skinny and muscular at the same time, with abs that were noticeable, but not extremely brawny. Her hair stopped just above her shoulders, allowing tiny glimpses at the small tattoo which stated _WICKED_ in bold letters across the side of her neck. Sakura's jade eyes were often disquieting and hosted pools of emptiness from past traumas, the only times they ever sparkled were when she forced them to for her benefit—or when talking about the Uchiha, of course. She could pack a major punch too, and don't let her be in a bad mood when doing so.

Tenten was less muscular-looking than Sakura, taking on a more feminine bodily figure. She dressed in cropped tops and baggy pants with brunette hair thrown up into a high-ponytail most of the time. Her stomach's left side displayed an array of rose tattoos that connected up until just underneath her bust. Tenten's mocha eyes acted as hosts to dark under-eye bags and a stud pierced through the right side of her nose. Her specialty was being incredibly skilled with a switchblade, better than any girl or guy in Konoha, at that.

The pair were beautiful nonetheless. Any Dev would kiss the ground they walked on if they simply asked and Teels would sometimes turn to catch glimpses of them as well.

As Shikamaru suspected, the film playing was your typical love story between some blonde himbo and an innocent, nerdy girl. He was disinterested in it completely, fidgeting about in his seat as boredom fleeted across his mind in different bursts.

Yet something other than ennui was eliciting Shikamaru's apprehension, something he couldn't quite put his finger on.


	4. Wasted

CHAPTER THREE → WASTED  
  
  
  
  
  


After having played for two hours straight, the film came to an end and Konoha's citizens, mostly the teenagers, had started about their journeys home.

Naruto had driven himself, Kiba, and Sakura back home—as that was all he could manage without raising suspicion. The four others walked their separate ways, each opting for a bit of alone time with their thoughts under the darkened night sky and comforting sounds of one's own footfalls.

Shikamaru, who decided to take a shortcut to his home through an alleyway, couldn't shake the feeling of something being amiss. He felt on edge, and as a result, he paid close attention to his surroundings, more specifically the environs behind him as he progressed down the alleyway's path. So much so, that he proceeded to trip over what he assumed to be a duffel bag at full capacity.

"The hell?" He murmured, catching himself just before he could fully face plant into the gravel beneath his shoes. Shikamaru looked down to catch a glimpse of his inanimate assailant—only to become utterly perplexed as he noticed a pair of legs which splayed out from beside a navy blue dumpster, unmoving.

On instinct, he inspected further, rather than just continuing on his journey home under the impression that someone else would come across whoever it was eventually, which was something that he would most certainly do.

Kneeling beside the legs and glancing past the dumpster, he noticed four blonde pigtails which had each been parted into different sections across their entire scalp. "Temari?"

With half-lidded, cyan eyes, Temari blinked confusedly a few times before ultimately losing the battle between herself and consciousness. His eyes swept over her limp body, and besides minor stains on her clothing, tiny scratches on her legs, and the obvious fact that she was unconscious—she was unscathed. Relief washed over him as he realized this fact, but a knowing smirk soon graced his features.

"You're wasted, huh? I never knew you Teels got drunk, especially not the girls—stuck up, prissy, Genteels downing a glass of liquor? Man." Shikamaru mused aloud, incredulity lacing his mind as he tried to imagine Teel’s drinking. He just couldn't do it, but the evidence of it was right there in front of him.

The girl couldn't even keep her eyes open despite being faced with someone of Shikamaru's caliber. He knew then that she was at the point of no return for the night, and whilst heaving a heavy sigh—he debated his options.

 _I can leave her here, go home, and fall asleep without any worries. Or, I could take her back towards downtown, find Gaara or someone, and end up making the same journey twice within a single night._ Shikamaru sighed as he weighed his options. If something happened to the dazed girl, something he could've easily prevented, his conscience wouldn't let him rest—and sleep was a priority to him nonetheless.

"What a drag." He muttered as he placed one arm beneath her knees and the other around her waist, soon having seized her in his grasp bridal style.

The journey from uptown to downtown was a little over twenty minutes, considering the lethargic pace Shikamaru usually walked at. With Temari's deadweight further slowing him down, he knew that this journey would be more taxing than usual.

Grudgingly, Shikamaru ambled his way downtown towards the only spot he was sure the Teels would be at: 'The 24/7 Diner' located just yards away from Konoha's only pharmacy.

Once halfway there, he noticed a faint movement from Temari—his current rescue mission. She nestled her face into his chest before moving her hand up to grip his shirt slightly. _Yeah, she was delirious alright._ Shikamaru thought to himself, as Temari had always behaved in a snide and hostile manner towards most men. Some guys in school even went as far as calling her a misandrist. Shikamaru was a man and he was a Dev, he knew if she suddenly woke up he'd be in for a grotesque assault.

 _I don't hate this as much as I should._ Shikamaru was quite amused by the plight she had gotten herself in. She hated men and here she was having to be saved by one, by him of all people. As a Teel, she probably hated him for simply just existing, yet despite knowing this, his lips curled into a small smile.

"Looks like your people are just up ahead," Shikamaru muttered as the diner decorated with glowing lights all over, came into view. Yet, upon noticing the fact that Temari's skirt had inched up her thigh slightly, he ceased his walking.

Her skirt had moved up just enough to allow him a glimpse at the letters _'RO,'_ which currently embedded themselves in her thighs. Temari's skin reddened around the letters, and he knew more probably lurked just underneath the rest of her clothing. He recognized the font from somewhere else, but at the moment was too exhausted to even begin thinking about why it was so familiar to him. Instinctively, he tore his eyes away from the girl's thighs, realizing that this entire scene made him look like some filthy pervert. Tch.


	5. The Vow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to "HikariMondo," thank you so much for your comment on my previous chapter and I am glad that you are enjoying my story!

CHAPTER FOUR → THE VOW  
  
  
  
  


"Hey, what are you doing with her?!" Ino shouted just as Shikamaru had stepped foot into the diner, effectively forwarding everyone's attention towards him.

"Oh my God." Hinata stated, concern audible in her voice as she rushed over to where Shikamaru stood with Temari in his arms.

Rushing over to aid her friend, Ino pointed a manicured finger at Shikamaru accusingly. "What did you do to her?!"

"I didn't do anything to her." Shikamaru defended himself, albeit unbelievably considering his monotonous voice and indiscernible concern.

Shino ambled his way over towards Shikamaru, seizing Temari from his grasp while Gaara headed for the very same Dev, arms folded across his chest.

"Calm down, let's just listen to what he has to say." Gaara tried de-escalating the situation that was slowly elevating as everyone in the diner turned around to face the group of teens.

"I found her in an alleyway ten minutes into uptown. She was unconscious so I decided to bring her over here, she's obviously drunk."

"Drunk? Us Teels do not _drink_." Ino scoffed, folding her arms across her chest as she shifted her weight onto her right leg.

"What do you mean, ' _Teels don't drink_?'" Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow, casting a quizzical look between the Teels in front of him.

"We don't drink because the cheer coach drug tests us, the guys drink sometimes but they get drug tested for football too—just less frequently than us cheerleaders." Karin interjected, arms wrapped tightly around Sasuke's as the pair sat in a nearby booth. Sasuke looked down at the menu, mind evidently in a state of reverie.

Ah, Shikamaru had forgotten that Temari was a cheerleader, mostly because she rarely showed up to games and when she did, she cheered on the very last row. Karin's statement made sense, as Teels occupied most of Konoha High's extracurriculars. Some Devs had managed to slip onto a few sports teams, but never had a Dev girl managed to find a spot on the cheerleading team. And Devs hardly ever received drug tests, even if they did participate in extracurriculars, the adults always suspected them of doing drugs no matter what simply because of their label.

"Yeah, and Temari is least likely to drink out of everyone. She took _The_ _Vow_ as a little girl, girls that took it are watched more closely than all of us." Hinata added.

" _The Vow?_ " Shikamaru questioned, the night seeming to continuously grow weirder and weirder as an abundance of newfound information came upon him.  
  


"Hinata, be quiet!" Ino exclaimed, effectively shutting up Hinata, who was flanked beside her as an abashed blush crept onto her cheeks.

Sensing the curiosity swelling deep within Shikamaru, Neji interrupted. "I don't know what's going on, but we'll be the ones looking after Temari from here on out. You just go home, Deviant."

Shikamaru heaved a sluggish sigh before responding. "Yeah, whatever. I help someone out and now I'm the bad guy." He hooked his thumbs into his pockets before languidly turning around and exiting the diner. _Idiots._

The walk home only further piqued Shikamaru's curiosity. He wondered what Hinata meant by _The Vow_ , and why whatever it was caused Temari to be watched more closely than others. Had anyone else taken it? What did it consist of? Who was in charge of making people take it? And why had Ino become so secretive all of a sudden?

Any other time he would've dismissed the matter, deeming it none of his business. Yet for some reason, curiosity got the best of him—which was seldom for Shikamaru.  
  


* * *

  
  
The next morning, Shikamaru found himself in the midst of an empty home. Father an engineering apprentice, working out of town constructing God knows what, and mother no longer in the land of the living.

It was a muggy Saturday, and most teenagers spent the day at home—enjoying a break from school or hanging out with friends at some recreational spot. Not Shikamaru, however.

With his father working under an employer earning low wages for the sole purpose of getting more experience in his profession, the Nara household had little money. Shikamaru took it upon himself to apply for a tutoring job with Konoha High, his test scores having served as enough reason for the school to hire him.

That noon, he walked to the establishment—waiting to find out who would fill his tutoring session today. Shikamaru never knew just what student the school would appoint to him, he usually just showed up and a student would be waiting for him in the mostly empty, library.  
  


Just before stepping inside the room, he tried ridding his mind of the events from last night—but his attempt was proven futile, considering the person who awaited him inside the book-filled space.

Clad in a casual emerald-colored dress and white sneakers, sat Temari in Shikamaru's usual tutoring section of the library. A section which consisted of a tapered-leg table with two chairs, one bulky black computer provided by the school, and a section of multiple course textbooks.

"I just can't seem to get away from you now." He muttered to himself as he reluctantly approached the table. "Shikamaru." He introduced just as he took the seat across from her.

"Temari. Chemistry Unit Four, Module Two." She stated brusquely, clearly not interested in conversing with him any further unless it involved that of her tutelage.

Reaching for the section of textbooks to his right and selecting the Chemistry one, "Straight to the point, I see." Shikamaru assessed. _She clearly doesn't remember our encounter last night, or either she's pretending not to._  
  


"Is there something besides the point you wanted to talk about?" She questioned tentatively, an eyebrow cocked in Shikamaru's direction as she did so.  
  


 _A lot, actually._ "No _ma'am_ , let's just get started. So Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Decay, huh?"


	6. Rotten

CHAPTER FIVE → ROTTEN  
  
  
  
  
  


"I believe that's all you need to know to prepare you for the test Monday." Shikamaru scratched the nape of his neck as he and Temari walked towards the exit of the library, with him lagging a little further behind.

"Yeah, I hope so," Temari responded curtly just as she grabbed a hold of the door handle. Turning around, she gave Shikamaru an unreadable glance—as if she were debating her next choice of words.

"Thanks, for uh...the other night." She murmured, inadvertently crossing her legs as she stood—causing the already shortened dress to hike up her thighs further.

_ ROTT _

Shikamaru quickly glanced at the two new letters which were revealed to him by this action. "You remembered?"

"Not really, Gaara told me what happened when I woke up. I must've just been really tired." She mused aloud.

"Didn't seem like exhaustion to me." He cocked an eyebrow in her direction.

"Just drop it, okay? I said thank you, now just leave whatever happened last night in the past," Temari stated, her tongue waspish.

"What does the tattoo on your thigh say?" He questioned, his baritone voice dubious in tone.

A bemused expression took residence across Temari's facial features before she soon reverted it to a state of impassiveness. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Uh-huh." He rolled his eyes before glancing at the spot which her dress failed to cover, this time being obvious about where his gaze landed.

"You men, you never mind your own business. I hate y'all," Temari stated just as she had uncrossed her legs and smoothed the fabric of her clothing down, successfully hiding whatever was written on her thigh.

"Oh, yeah? Well, it was a man who saved your ass last night." Shikamaru scowled, though Temari could tell his anger was not directed at her specifically.

"And what were you saving me from? The wrath of another man?" Temari's viridian eyes had this darkened appearance to them, a look of violent antipathy—and Shikamaru was sure those daggers couldn't be meant for himself.

For the first time in his life, Shikamaru paused. He had nothing more to say as Temari's words sunk in. _ I didn't even think about that. _

Before Shikamaru had a chance to gather his thoughts accordingly, he watched as Temari yelped out in pain before stumbling backward—about to fall. Fervently, Shikamaru rushed to catch her before she could fully take residence on the hardened carpets of the library. His attempt was in vain, however, as they both came crashing onto the flooring.

_ All I did was break her fall _ . Shikamaru thought to himself with an eye roll as he glanced down at Temari, who was placed in between his legs—clutching her thigh which had previously been their topic of discussion.

"Temari, let me see."

Thoughtlessly, Temari reached to grab the hem of her dress, allowing Shikamaru a full glance at her thigh.

_ ROTTEN _

The tattoo that was previously spelled out in black ink, was now glowing under a red-orangish hue. Evidently, it was causing the blonde pain.

"What the fuck? I've never seen a tattoo do that before," Shikamaru stated pensively.

"Because they don't do this!" Temari cried out.

"Do you know who gave you this tattoo?"

"No! I woke up this morning and it was-" She cut herself off as the pain seemed to slowly begin subsiding. "Why am I even telling you all this? As if a Dev could ever help me out."

"There you go with that whole stereotyping people thing."

"Everyone has always proved me right."

* * *

  
  


Shikamaru couldn't seem to shake the depth of Temari's words for the rest of the day. He knew that her statement ran much deeper than he could ever guess, and he was now all the more sure that he wanted to investigate further into this matter.

"Shikamaru! Hey, snap out of it!" Choji exclaimed as he masticated loudly in Shikamaru's face.

"Right. My bad." Shikamaru mumbled, finally coming out of his reverie.

"As I was saying, he finally made eye contact with me! It was like the world stopped all around us." Sakura sighed dreamily, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that she was talking about the Uchiha.

"I don't know why you bother with him when I am right here," Lee interjected.

"I don't know how you chose him when his friend is so much hotter," Tenten stated.

"Neji? Oh my Gosh! You like Neji?" Sakura shouted, causing everyone in the bistro to turn and face them.

"You're both hopeless, they'd never like you two back," Kiba murmured.

"As if Karui would like you or Choji?" Sakura insulted, causing both herself and Tenten to laugh.

"Hey! I didn't even say anything, don't bring me into this!" Choji interrupted their bickering.

"Shikamaru, you're awfully quiet today." Naruto decided to change the tide of the conversation, which everyone was growing tired of.

"I could say the same about you, Naruto."

"Uh, hello? Ramen?" Naruto pointed towards his food as if saying _ 'you should know why I'm being quiet, I'm eating my favorite food.' _

"You have no reason for being quiet, so explain," Naruto added to his previous statement.

"It's nothing, I'm just thinking about something that happened earlier today," Shikamaru explained, clearly having no intentions of letting his friends in on what was transpiring between him and Temari. They couldn't be of any service to him concerning the matter at hand.

Yet, he couldn’t help but feel like his next clue was just underneath the tip of his nose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I usually update this story on Mondays and Fridays but I wanted to release this chapter early for Valentine's Day. Happy Valentine's Day to all the lovely people reading this story, thank you so much for taking time out of your day to do so!


	7. Curious

CHAPTER SIX → CURIOUS  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Shikamaru hated Mondays, and this one was no exception. The day seemed to serve only one purpose, and that was to begin the long and painfully agonizing school week. Sitting in his second period of the day, Shikamaru couldn't help but bounce his right leg slightly out of pure boredom.

The ticking of the clock seemed to grow deafeningly loud as the minutes trickled by, Shikamaru growing anxious in his seat as he waited for the bell to ring—of which would signal the beginning of Konoha High's twenty-minute break period.

He had to find Temari, he had to question her as a way of investigating further into the matter that lay at hand. Knowing Temari, she'd try her best to avoid him at all costs—especially considering their encounter Saturday, the one where Shikamaru had seen her helpless and vulnerable for a second time.

Shikamaru knew that a girl like her wouldn't take that so lightly, as Temari radiated nothing short of independence, and being helped out was clearly something that she was wary of.

The shrill, ear-piercing ringing of the school's bell resounded throughout all of Konoha High, and Shikamaru practically barreled out of his classroom.

Amidst the crowd of Konoha High's some six hundred students, Shikamaru knew that he would have to find his way to the hall for advanced students and fast. Shikamaru himself took classes on the Advanced Placement level, something his homeroom teacher, Asuma, begged him to do. Standard and intermediate-advanced classes were on opposite halls of the school.

He was aware of the fact that Temari took intermediate-advanced classes, as they used to share some before he got moved up.

If he remembered correctly, Temari would be exiting her.....

"Chemistry class." He finished his sentence aloud, head snapping in the direction of Might Gai's classroom. There he caught sight of Temari, a slight pep in her step as she exited the room—both hands gripping onto the straps of her lavender book bag.

"Someone looks happy." He commented from around the corner just as she walked past him, causing the girl's incessant steps to come to a halt.

"Shikamaru." She scowled as she turned around to face him.

"What did you make on the test?" He asked, ignoring her searing attitude.

"Ninety-eight." Her statement was abrupt in manner, almost as if saying ' _cut the small talk, what do you want?'_

"You're welcome."

"Look, Shikamaru. You know what you are and what I am, we can't be seen talking to each other like this." Temari looked over her shoulder, eyes darting across the hallways as they slowly began to fill up with pupils.

"Then let's not be seen." Shikamaru turned on his heel and began walking further down the hallway towards an unknown location, willing Temari to follow him—and surprisingly, she did.

Shikamaru didn't know about her, but he was utterly bewildered by her actions, not being able to comprehend how she willingly allowed herself to follow a man, let alone a Dev, around.

Now having led them into an empty, unused classroom. Shikamaru closed the door and turned around to face Temari, immediately beginning his interrogation. "Does it hurt?"

"What?" She questioned.

"The tattoo, does it hurt right now?"

"If it did, do you think I'd be standing here?" Her tone was sharp and growing increasingly sarcastic with every word.

"Noted," Shikamaru rolled his eyes before continuing his sentence. "Show me the tattoo again."

"I'm beginning to think you just like looking at my thighs."

"Temari." Shikamaru heaved a sigh as her name rolled off of his tongue.

"Why won't you just back off? You men-"

"Temari, just do it!" He exclaimed, growing frustrated with Temari's lack of acknowledgment for how ominous their situation was becoming.

"No." She folded her arms across her chest, resoluteness seeping out of every inch of her body.

"Fine, what's this about _The Vow_ I keep hearing?" Shikamaru questioned, watching as Temari's face scrunched up into a mixture of perturb and aloofness.

Quickly, Temari looked over her shoulder. Once her gaze had swept the entire room, she turned to face Shikamaru once more. "How did you know..." Cadence causing an ambiguity to surround her tone.

"Hinata mentioned it when I brought you back to the diner, said something about you being watched more closely than others."

"Look, you're not supposed to know about that. No man is, you can't mention that so thoughtlessly!" Temari managed to shout and whisper all at the same time.

"Temari, tell me what it is." Shikamaru insisted, chocolate eyes boring deeply into cyan waters.

"You can look up my skirt, like the pervert you are." Temari huffed, thoroughly defeated as she grabbed ahold of the ends of her skirt, revealing her tattooed thigh.

"I am not a pervert." Shikamaru murmured as he inched closer to Temari, taking a knee in front of her as he scrutinized the swarthy ink which contrasted deeply with the hue of her fair skin.

"Was it a stinging pain? Throbbing?" He questioned, hand subconsciously reaching out to touch the swollen skin before he abruptly recoiled, stopping himself from doing so.

"I don't know. I can't remember, it hasn't done that since Saturday."

"Interesting, cinnamon?"

"Cinnamon?" Temari repeated his statement, befuddled as to what that word meant in comparison with his previous statements.

"You smell like cinnamon."

"We're sniffing each other now?" Temari bent forward, allowing her nostrils to fill themselves with the scent of the sluggish brunette in front of her. "You smell...like a man."

"What do you have against men?" Shikamaru stood up, finally asking the question which had cascaded across his mental repeatedly since the first time he met the lady before him.

"A lot."

"What were you doing Friday night? Before I found you, that is."

"It's none of your business."

"Temari! Don't you realize how weird your situation is? I found you unconscious in _my_ side of town, you have a tattoo that randomly glows, and you can't remember a thing that happened after whatever you were originally doing!" Shikamaru exclaimed.

"I don't need your help, I can figure out whatever happened by myself! Why do you even care?"

Shikamaru paused as he thought about his next choice of words. "I don't, I'm just curious."


	8. The Surface

CHAPTER SEVEN → THE SURFACE  
  
  
  
  
  


The reverberating sounds of loud chatter consisting of teenage banter and other things alike seemed to envelop Shikamaru within some sort of bubble, drowning out the noises and making them seem miles away instead of all around him.

It was lunchtime at Konoha High, and half the student body was present within the cafeteria. Shikamaru and his posse had long designated a spot for themselves, so finding them seated at the circular lunch table came as no surprise to him.

At the moment, he found himself absentmindedly listening to Naruto's obnoxious tirade about the school's lunch ladies, who refused to give him an extra roll of bread. The sighs of his friends continued to race throughout Shikamaru's eardrums, his thoughts seemingly louder than everything around him.

Slowly looking upwards and staring straight ahead, Shikamaru noticed that it was Sakura who currently sat seated across from him. His eyes had just begun to avert their attention when he suddenly reverted them back towards her.

It was the first time he had noticed it: the font of Sakura's tattoo. The tattoo, he found it oddly similar to Temari's. _No way, I must be losing it._

But the slowly growing pit within his stomach—the one which threatened to swallow his entire abdomen, told him otherwise. It was his gut feeling, his intuition, his clear understanding of the recent discovery. _Sakura had the same kind of tattoo as Temari._

He fervently shook his head at the thought. _No, let's not jump to conclusions, Shikamaru. Sakura's tattoo has never glowed._ Shikamaru squinted his eyes, trying to be discreet as possible while he observed Sakura's neck.

"Sakura."

The girl in question adjusted her attention towards Shikamaru as he called her name, a quizzical look making its way onto her face. "What's up, Shikamaru?"

"After school, meet me at The Spot." Shikamaru stated, and without question, Sakura agreed with a simple nod of her head.

The Spot was a rendezvous point between Shikamaru and his friends. It was an unused classroom located at the end of the Hall of Sciences. He and his friends would usually get into all kinds of horseplay within the confines of it, however, lately, it's begun to become a grim meeting place.  
  


* * *

  
  


"Shikamaru if you call me into this classroom again, I swear-" Temari began, but soon stopped her forceful diatribe against him when she noticed Sakura on the other end of the room.

The only way Shikamaru had been able to convince Temari to follow him into The Spot a second time, was by bringing up the fact that he could possibly have new information in regards to her situation. Shikamaru knew that she wanted to find out what happened to her Friday night as much as he did.

"What's she doing here? Don't tell me you're harassing her too." Temari's lips curled into that of an annoyed frown as she glanced at Shikamaru through her peripheral.

"Sakura, pull your hair back so we can see your tattoo better."

"Shikamaru, what's going on?" Sakura questioned, though doing as Shikamaru instructed her to do without so much as a slight hesitation.

"You'll see. Temari, reveal your tattoo."

"What?! I didn't want anyone else to know about that, what the hell are you doing?!" Temari's eyes widened as she turned around to face Shikamaru completely.

"Temari, look at Sakura's neck." He only pinched the bridge of his nose as the statement left his lips.

A look of perplexity raced across Temari's visage as she studied the skin of Sakura's neck. Subconsciously walking towards her, Temari continued to let her eyes roam the area. An incredulous look soon washed over her entire being as she slowly grabbed the hem of her skirt—lifting it upwards slightly. "Sakura-"

"Sakura, how did you get that tattoo?" Shikamaru interrupted Temari, eager to begin his newest interrogation.

"I got it a year ago, I don't really remember what happened. I was drinking by myself near the tattoo shop downtown, figured I must've gotten it on a drunken whim."  
  


"So, you don't technically know how you got yours either?" Shikamaru inquired, an eyebrow raised in suspicion.

"I mean, yeah, I guess you could say that. Wait...either?" Her hardened gaze landed upon Temari, softening as she looked over the girl's thigh tattoo.

"Sakura, who else has a tattoo like this?" Temari questioned, hands balling themselves into fists as she began to twitch slightly.

"Besides you and me? I don't know."

"So this isn't just a 'Temari thing', nor a 'Teel thing' either." Shikamaru placed his thumb atop of his bottom lip, contemplating all of the discoveries he and Temari had made up until this point.

"Sakura, does your tattoo glow?" Temari asked, and Shikamaru could tell that she had finally gotten to the question she had been wanting to ask since the beginning of their meeting.

"Once, yeah, I think it did!" Sakura exclaimed as she neared the end of her sentence, aged memories seeming to flood back into her mind—an observation made by Shikamaru based on the look of her face.

"This situation gets weirder and weirder every day." Shikamaru mumbled.

And yet, he couldn't help but feel like they had only just begun to scratch the surface of this mystery, of which was ever-growing baleful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to publish this chapter Friday, but after writing it for the first time, I didn't really like where it would take the story. Sorry for the late post, I plan to keep consistent with the update schedule but sometimes things do happen!


	9. Stigmas

CHAPTER EIGHT → STIGMAS

"Mitochondria? We've never even talked about that before!" Naruto shouted, pointing a finger at his study guide as he, Shikamaru, and the rest of the gang sat seated in the town’s public library. It was a humid Wednesday and the group of seven had decided to study after school for their upcoming exams.

"Yes, we did. Multiple times in Biology." Tenten murmured, side-eyeing Naruto from her seat across from him.

"How did you ever make it into Chemistry?" Sakura mumbled, glancing over at Tenten—as if complaining to each other with a simple look of their eyes.

"Even if we have gone over it, they can't seriously expect us to remember this stuff from year to year," Kiba added to the conversation, placing his head in the palm of his hand as he scrutinized the text of his paper.

"Now, that I can agree with." Kankuro nodded, arms folded across his chest.

You could take the college admission exams multiple times, plus it was only their junior year in high school. Yet, the trepidation following the commencement of exam week was inescapable—no matter how much time one had left before thinking of going to university.

Shikamaru had his mind dead set on entering the workforce after graduating high school, he knew he would never be able to afford college and the pressure of maintaining a scholarship was something he didn't want to bear. Perhaps, he would become some sort of welder, a worker in a paper mill, or anything of similar caliber.

He knew he needed to focus on averaging an impressive score despite not going to college, as this would separate him from other competitors entering the same field as him. However, he couldn't help but ponder on the situation regarding Temari.

Shikamaru had informed Sakura of the need to keep their circumstances shrouded in secrecy, and he knew that her lips would be as a bolted door from that point on. Something ill-omened lurked just at the end of the road, Shikamaru knew that for a fact. The need to find out just what that was greatly outweighed whatever inkling of fear lie deep within him and Temari would be foolish to think he'd just leave things as they were when he'd already discovered so much.

Answers were just in the confines of his reach, practically grazing beneath his fingertips. Solving this mystery was the one thing that Teels couldn't have, they already have everything else. But this mystery, it was his, his mystery to solve. Stumbling upon Temari in that alleyway couldn't have been a coincidence.

Shikamaru didn't mind the presence of Temari; he didn't mind that this enigma surrounded her and that he'd need her cooperation to progress further ahead. It would be a tough obstacle, and he didn't know how he would get a girl like her to trust his intentions, but hopefully, she'd come around soon.

Subconsciously, he had begun jotting down different notes describing the contents of all he had discovered. Shikamaru didn't know what he would be doing with them, but he soon placed them in a nearby manila folder as the shrill ringing of his cellphone sounded throughout the quiet library. "Hello?"

"Shikamaru, I won't be home tonight. There should be some frozen dinners in the freezer, make yourself one." The baritone voice of his father seeping through the speakers of his device.

"Caught up with work again?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow while staring straight ahead at the analog clock which lined the beige walls of Konoha's library. _6:39 P.M._

"Yeah," His father sighed. "Well, I have to go now, don't stay out too late." Once the voice of his father had withered away, the brassy-sounding dial tone soon replaced it.

Placing the phone in his back pocket, Shikamaru stood and began pushing his seat towards the table.

"Where are you going?" Lee asked, preparing to exit the library as well—soon stopping as Shikamaru raised his palm.

"My dad asked me to go run some errands for him, you all continue studying—since none of you have a chance at passing the exams right now."

"Hey!" Kiba and Naruto's voices resounded throughout the library as Shikamaru exited the establishment.

His thumbs latched onto the edges of his denim pockets as he took slack steps towards the destination he had been set on revisiting since he had gotten involved in all of this mess. Shikamaru was sure that he could find something useful at the location.

Graffiti lined the crevices of the crimson brick walls, which stood planted next to another building of similar aesthetic. Through the veil of darkness that appeared wherever night had fallen upon the Earth, Shikamaru could barely see anything. He reached for the back pocket where his phone was located, however, the hushed shuffling of something moving just inches away from him stopped his actions momentarily. With an added speed, Shikamaru had whipped out his phone—flicking on its flash in the direction of said movement.

"Temari?!"

"Shikamaru? Ugh! What are _you_ doing here?" Temari glowered whilst stomping one foot onto the ground, creating an unusual amount of vibrations.

"Seems like you're harassing _me_ now." Shikamaru's lips curled into that of a sly grin as he watched Temari practically implode from a multitude of emotions, the most prominent one being annoyance.

"I was here first!"

"Uh-huh. How would a Teel like you even know how to maneuver these parts?"

"My dad- You know what? I'm out of here." Temari turned around on heel, lavender dress flowing against the currents of her spin.

"I was just kidding, geez." Shikamaru grabbed her wrist gingerly, as he looked down towards her thigh—a new force of habit for him.

"Are you here to search for clues too?" She asked, glancing down at Shikamaru's hand which snaked around her wrist.

"Yeah. I think we should start here before continuing anywhere else."

"We?" Temari cocked an eyebrow as she tilted her head to the side, pulling her hand from Shikamaru's grasp.

"You're right, I mean _me_. You haven't made any substantial contributions."

"You're fucking annoying, you know that? I guess you can't help that though." Shikamaru could discern that she was referring to his gender, which she voiced her disdain for multiple times each day.

"You know, superficial Teels have no right to call anyone annoying. You probably have no real understanding of what it's like to actually be annoyed, miserable, and distressed. These stigmas you carry against people like me—we have way more to carry against people like you." He didn't know where this statement had come from, the words seeming to flow from his mouth incessantly. Sure, these are the things he had always thought, but never had he allowed himself to voice them.

A deafening silence befell the pair, cushioning them in its strangely, welcoming embrace. Temari looked as dubious as Shikamaru had ever seen her, it was the one time she hadn't anything to say.

"I took notes about your situation, I'm going to look over them at the bistro across the street. You should probably look over them too." Shikamaru stated, walking past Temari in the direction of the small restaurant—and for a second time, Temari followed.

"Oh, Shikamaru!" A stout old lady greeted him with an embrace as he entered the restaurant, namely, Ms. Chiyo. She had a couple of bistros located in various cities, however, she was mostly present at the ones located in Konoha and Suna.

"Who's this girl you have with you? Is she your girlfriend?" Her eyes darted behind Shikamaru towards the girl standing behind him, whose eyes were concentrated on the floor until having heard her presence acknowledged. "Oh..." Ms. Chiyo's tone faltered.

"Ms. Chiyo, can we get a table for two really quickly?" Shikamaru interrupted, noticing the frown that slowly etched its way onto the woman's countenance.

"Yes, I suppose." Ms. Chiyo placed her hands on her apron, beckoning the two to follow her as she led them to a small, window-side table.

"Let's get you two started with some drinks, yeah?" Ms. Chiyo looked between them, awaiting their beverage selections.

"Coke for me," Shikamaru stated, looking over towards Temari as she ordered her drink.

"Water, with ice." Her eyes still maintained their hold on the dining table before them, not once having looked up at Shikamaru since his thought-inducing statements.

"Why water? They have tons of other options, you know?"

"Maybe I just like water?" Temari questioned rhetorically.

"That's not why."

"What stigmas?" Temari ignored his comment, instead opting to ask a question of her own.

"What?"

"What stigmas do you have against people like me?" She added onto her previous question.

"A lot."

Ms. Chiyo soon returned to their table, three drinks in tow as she prepared to take their order. "What would you two like?"

The pair ordered their meals and when Ms. Chiyo left, Temari raised an eyebrow at Shikamaru. "Did you order two Coca-Colas?"

"No, maybe she did that on accident. But, you have to drink it now." Shikamaru insisted, lips curling upwards at the ends.

"I've actually never had a Coca-Cola in my life. My mother always said that ladies drink water, and tea on certain occasions."

"Well, your mom isn't here now, is she?"

"You're a bad influence." Temari smiled lightly, a chuckle escaping her lips.

Shikamaru couldn't help but grin at her, finding this rare glimpse of Temari's smile gratifying. "Drink it, just this once."

"Okay, okay! Stop being so pushy." Temari reached to grab the glass, slowly swirling the drink around using her straw as she inspected the unfamiliar beverage. Without further delay, she took a swig of it—face immediately scrunching up as the carbonated water portion of the famous drink ignited a fire across her taste buds, before soon calming down into nothing more than a liquid version of sugar. "Oh?"

"The look on your face now, it's priceless." Shikamaru coughed just after realizing what he had said, quickly changing the subject of their conversation. “Anyways, here are the notes I took. It’s basically just a summary of everything we know and questions I have.” He handed the folder to Temari. 

“I had no idea you were this detailed.” She commented. 

“I’ll take that as a compliment. Now, I think the main thing we should begin investigating is why you were unconscious and who gave you and Sakura those weird tattoos.” 

“Fine by me.”

“So, is it safe to assume that we’re working together?” Shikamaru questioned, taking a sip of his drink as he awaited Temari’s response.

“No, consider this a competition. Like you said, ‘I’ve made no substantial contributions.’ That’s going to change, I can’t have a man outdoing me.” She smirked, looking at Shikamaru through her eyebrows as Ms. Chiyo returned—dropping off their plates before quickly leaving. 

“Likewise.”


	10. Tenten's Expertise

CHAPTER NINE → TENTEN'S EXPERTISE

Temari was undeniably excited about what she had discovered since the last time she met with Shikamaru. He told her that her presence within her own situation was minuscule, and she couldn’t have that. A man telling her that she had made no important contributions? How could he even bring his lips to form such words? In life, women make all the important contributions and sacrifices, not men. They boss women around and they behave violently ninety percent of the time. It wasn’t a generalization or a stigma—it was something she had observed throughout life.

It’s not like she wanted his validation or anything, she just wanted to make him eat his words. And she was sure that this discovery was the first step to doing that. As soon as Shikamaru had walked past their usual meeting classroom, she grabbed a hold of his book bag—yanking him inside the space.

“Ow! What the- Temari?” Shikamaru glowered, mumbling a string of curse words Temari couldn’t quite understand. “That strength of yours can be a bit scary, you know?”

“That’s the point. Now, feast your eyes on _this!_ ” Temari pulled her recent discovery from her book bag, a small smirk evident on her features.

“Tattoo ink and needle cartridges?” Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, seizing the items from Temari’s palm as he examined it.

“I went back to the alleyway after you went home. We didn’t get a chanc-”

“You went back after I went home?! Temari, I told you to get out of uptown as soon as possible!”

“You’re not the boss of me!”

“Boss of you? Temari, what? I’m not bossing you around—I told you that for your own safety.”

In an instant, she felt a scorching sensation shoot across her thigh—a loud yelp escaping her lips as she felt herself begin to lose balance. “Temari? Are you okay?”

Shikamaru had managed to catch her, unlike the last time they found themselves in this predicament. He could practically see the glistening of yellow and orange without asking her to lift the fabric of her skirt. “The last time it did that was Saturday, right?”

“Yes.” She replied brusquely through gritted teeth as she felt herself begin to sink into the embrace of Shikamaru. Despite wanting to remove herself from his grasp, the pain in her thigh was enough to keep her in place.

“So, is it throbbing or stinging?”

“IT BURNS, SHIKAMARU!” She had grown tired of his questions, couldn’t he see that she was in pain? It’s so typical of men to not have any form of empathy, but she had at least thought Shikamaru was smart enough to not interrogate her with the state she’s currently in.

“Last time, it lasted for around three minutes. 3..2..1.” He counted down as he maneuvered her body to sit on top of a nearby desk. With a few more curse words and forceful clenching of fists, Temari found that the pain eventually subsided.

“That’s definitely a form of punishment for something, but I can’t figure out what.” Shikamaru mused, fingers grazing the bottom of his chin. “Now, what about this ink?”

It was then that Temari realized Shikamaru meant those words he had spoken to her Monday. _‘I don’t, I’m just curious.’_ She had just experienced probably the worst pain she’s ever felt in her entire life, and he was only concerned about the tattoo ink. “I found it in the alleyway, it was at the bottom of the dumpster.”

“So what you’re saying is, you crawled into the dumpster to find this?” A goofy grin was visible on his face as he watched Temari’s right eye begin twitching at his question.

“Actually, it was me _and_ Sakura.” She rolled her eyes before averting her gaze away from Shikamaru’s taunting one.

“You and Sakura? Since when were the two of you friends?”

“That doesn’t matter. Anyways, when we found it we just knew this had to be connected to our tattoos in some way. We’re trying to figure out what tattoo artist they belong to.”

“Well that’s easy enough,” Shikamaru stated as he went to reach for his cellphone.

“What are you doing?”

“I have a friend that is pretty experienced with many tattoo artists.”

“Bring Sakura with you too, okay?” Temari tried to gauge just who Shikamaru was speaking to, but she really couldn’t tell. All she knew was that whoever it was, was also close friends with Sakura. Sakura wouldn’t just follow anyone around, she was too street smart for that.

A few minutes had passed before the opening of the classroom’s entrance door alerted them of new, incoming presences. “Hey, Shikamaru and Temari.” Sakura greeted. Before Temari and Shikamaru had a chance to respond, another voice came—one that was much more intimidating than the last.

“Are you two out of your mind?! What’s a Teel doing in The Spot?”

“Oh, Tenten, what if that Teel was Neji? Would you react the same way?” Sakura teased.

“Yes! This is where _we_ hang out, we don’t even invite other Devs in here.”

“Come on, Tenten. Temari’s not like the other Teels, she’s nicer.”

“Says who?” Shikamaru scoffed, causing Temari to shoot him one of her infamous glares.

“Sakura, the only Teel you defend is Sasuke! What’s gotten into you?”

“Look, I won’t sit and be talked about as if I’m not even here. Either she’s with me or against me,” Temari interjected.

“Tenten, she has _the_ tattoo,” Sakura whispered while also yelling at the same time.

“She does?” Tenten’s eyes visibly widened as she glanced at Temari, prompting the latter to lift her skirt slightly.

“Wait, you knew?! How come nobody told me?” Shikamaru’s mouth was slightly ajar. Temari could tell that he was offended by his friends’ secrecy.

“Uhh, anyway, what did you guys need me for?” Tenten questioned, looking between the trio.

“Right, Tenten you have a lot of tattoos. I know that most were done by different artists, so I want to know if you recognize this ink and needle cartridge.” Shikamaru handed the items to Tenten gingerly.

“Of course I’d recognize these. They’re Sai’s, he developed these cartridges himself. I don’t remember seeing this ink before, however. It’s thinner than most tattoo inks, and it looks kind of red.”

“Sai? I’ve never heard of him before. Is he a Dev or a Teel?” Shikamaru asked, eyebrows knitting themselves together.

“Neither, actually,” Tenten answered as if that was something normal.

“How can someone be neither Teel nor Dev?” Temari asked. Of course, people who lived outside of Konoha wouldn’t be either of those—but this guy had an entire tattoo shop there.


	11. The Burbs'

CHAPTER TEN → THE BURBS'

“It’s because no one knows who Sai’s family is. We determine who’s a Dev and who’s a Teel based on the importance of their family name and income. If no one knows your family, you can’t be classified,” Tenten explained. 

“Can you tell me the difference between this ink and other tattoo inks?” Temari questioned, remembering Tenten’s previous observations.

“Oh, yeah. There are red tattoo inks, of course, but this one is obviously meant to be black. So, I’m confused as to why the red undertone is so prominent? It’s weird.” 

“Tenten, do you have  _ the _ tattoo?” Shikamaru asked, and Temari then realized that she had forgotten all about the tattoos themselves. She knew they were important, but paid very little mind to the kinds of people they were placed on.

“Me? No.” She fervently shook her head as she continued speaking. “Sakura only told me about it because we’re just that close, you know?”

“Yeah, I see.” Shikamaru folded his arms across his chest before huffing lowly. “So, where do we go from here?” He muttered, more so to himself than to anyone else.

“I think we should have the ink examined. As Tenten said, it’s weird.” Temari glanced towards the container filled with the suspicious substance as she made her suggestion. 

Sakura tilted her head to the side. “Have it examined? Like by scientists?”

Temari nodded, her viridian gaze following the facial expressions of the three people around her. She was searching for doubt and she found it on all three of their faces. 

“Shouldn’t we confront Sai about it first?” Tenten shifted her weight onto her left leg, a pensive expression manifesting itself onto her visage. 

“Well, Sakura and Shikamaru?” Temari looked at them. 

“What scientists do you have in mind? As far as I know, Konoha doesn’t have any professional ones.” Shikamaru gave her a skeptical look, and Temari could tell that he was trying to discover the reasoning behind her suggestion.

“They’re not professionals on paperwork, but in terms of skill? They’re probably masters of the entire subject,” Temari began, eyes sweeping the room as she watched their faces fall into expressions of confoundedness at her imposing statements. “Karin and Sasuke.” 

“Karin? A science prodigy? She didn’t seem all that bright when I talked to her at the diner.” Shikamaru grumbled. 

“Yeah? Well, she is. She could probably deconstruct the properties of this ink in under two days. Sasuke is usually the one to collect samples and other hands-on stuff, Karin does almost everything else on her own.” 

“Will they even help us? We’re Devs and they don’t seem all that friendly,” Tenten interjected. 

“They’ll help me, for a price. Sasuke doesn’t care too much about Devs one way or another, and Karin will probably only have a problem with Sakura.”

“Why me?!” Sakura exclaimed, shooting up from the desk she had placed herself on top of.

“Everyone knows you have a crush on her boyfriend, including her,” Shikamaru answered.

“Aren’t you worried about getting so many people involved? We could be working with the enemy at any moment. Me, Shikamaru, and Sakura already know about this. Adding Sasuke and Karin will make a total of five people that know about it, excluding yourself.” Tenten splayed herself across a row of desks as if she were going to take a nap out of exhaustion from using her brain so much. 

“It’s the only choice we have.” Shikamaru and Temari spoke in unison, causing the latter to kiss her teeth.

When the bell rang, Temari barreled out of the door. It was the end of the school day and she had to find Karin before she got a chance to latch herself onto Sasuke. Searching the crowds for a mop of cherry red locks--she soon spotted said girl heading across the courtyard. 

“Karin! Karin!” She shouted breathlessly, feeling as though she could slump over and hurl at any second from racing through the many halls of Konoha High. Karin turned around amid her slight jog, pushing the frames of her glasses further up her nose bridge as she searched for the voice that had called her name.

“Karin, I need your help,” Temari muttered, hands on her knees as she finally caught up to her target. 

“Temari? Can’t you see that I’m trying to find Sasuke?” She huffed, tapping her foot against the lush grasses of their school’s lawn.

“I have something for you to examine, Sasuke can help too.”

“Temari, I have to go- wait, what? Something for me to examine? Well, don’t be a stranger, show it to me!” She urged, tugging Temari’s body upward as she practically bounced in place. Karin was a total science geek, her love for the subject was one that narrowly outweighed her love for the Uchiha. 

“Just grab Sasuke and go to your house, I’ll bring it to your lab.”

“Okay, hurry up! I want you there by five o’clock.” Karin spun around on her heel as she went back to searching for her boyfriend. 

“Is it okay if I bring a few friends with me?” 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” She waved her off, not fully comprehending Temari’s question. Temari grimaced as she watched Karin’s figure sashay away, feeling as though her lungs were ablaze with sweltering flames. 

“Here, you look like you could use it.” 

Temari glanced down to see an iced bottle of water being handed to her and when she looked up, she saw that it was Shikamaru who had offered it. “Thanks.” 

“You’re going to take us to her house? Her house in the Burbs’?” He questioned, and Temari could tell that he was doubtful of her logic. 

“Karin’s parents are out of town. I’ll help you sneak everyone in.” 

“Devs in the Burbs’? We’ll stick out like a sore thumb.” 

A small chuckle escaped her mouth, causing Shikamaru to frown. “What’s so funny?” 

“The way you keep calling our neighborhood ‘the Burbs’’. Is that short for suburbs?” 

Shikamaru rubbed the nape of his neck sheepishly. “Yeah, it is.”

_ That’s cute.  _ “That’s funny.” Temari looked over towards the parking lot which had now dwindled greatly in numbers. “I think I should get going. Have Sakura and Tenten ready by four-thirty.”

“Okay, we’ll wait for you to come by the bistro,” He stated, watching as Temari jogged away.

When five o’clock came, the group was already waiting on Karin’s doorstep. Lithe footsteps could be heard as someone approached the door from the inside. “Temari! Hey- what? Temari, I know you did not just bring a bunch of Devs to my house!” Karin exclaimed.

“Come on, Karin. They need to be here for this.” Temari tried to reason with her.

“Why?”

“I’ll explain once you let us inside.”

“Sasuke, put extra chairs in the lab, please!” She craned her neck inside of the abode as she called out orders to him, before turning around to face Temari and the others once again. “Fine, you’d better have a good reason for this. You know I’ll have to delete my family’s surveillance footage now.” She huffed as she moved to the side.

Temari noticed Sasuke as he walked up the stairs with two chairs in tow, his toned muscles flexing from beneath his black t-shirt. It didn’t take long before he was back downstairs and picking up one last chair. 

“Okay, give me the thing.” Karin held the palm of her hand out towards no one, in particular, causing Sakura to step up and hand her the tattoo ink. 

“It’s tattoo ink, can you deconstruct the individual properties of it?” Sakura questioned, and before Karin could respond, the voice of Sasuke cut through the tension momentarily.

“Is that you, Sakura?” He asked, glancing over his broad shoulders at her, and Temari could tell that Sakura was pleasantly surprised by his acknowledgment.

She nodded her head in his direction. “What’s up, Sasuke?”

“Yes, I can deconstruct the properties of this ink. I need to know why you all want me to do that, however.” Karin interrupted their conversation, practically fuming over the fact that Sasuke had addressed Sakura’s presence. 

“Me and Sakura have these weird tattoos; they randomly glow and cause pain for us sometimes.” Temari softly touched the skin of her thigh through the fabric of her skirt.

“Tattoos that glow and cause pain? Yeah, right.” Karin rolled her eyes as a sigh left her lips. 

“I know how it sounds, but it's true,” Shikamaru defended. 

“Prove it.” Karin folded her arms across her chest impatiently. 

“Didn’t Temari just say that it happens randomly? They can’t force them to glow on command.” Tenten rolled her eyes as she pushed her way to the front of the room so that she could stand directly in front of Karin.

“Karin, just do it. If you examine the ink, you’ll probably discover if what they’re saying is true or not.” Sasuke stated, deterring Karin’s hostility.

“You never side with me,” She muttered as a small frown stole across her face. “Fine, I’ll do it. You can pay me later, Temari. Now, follow me.” Karin motioned for everyone to begin walking upstairs.

Her lab was magnificent, to say the least. The large glass table situated in the middle of the space was lined with a multitude of expensive equipment and blinding lights. Its walls were painted white and the sterile smell of cleaning supplies soared through the air. Beneath their feet lay tiles and tiles of expensive marble; the room’s overall price tag was probably greater than that of an entire car.

“This is a centrifuge, it allows me to separate ingredients based on density. Since we already know that this is tattoo ink, I can separate the normal ingredients from any unusual ones.” Karin explained as she placed on her lab coat. 

“How long will that take?” Shikamaru asked.

“This is the easy part, it’ll only take around fifteen minutes. If there’s anything unusual in here, I’ll have to separate that too. Since I won’t know the densities of them, I’ll make educated guesses. After that, we can figure out what the unknown ingredients are. That process could take two days.”

“So, what will we do in the meantime?” Sakura looked towards Temari and Shikamaru.

“In the meantime, we’ll be paying Sai a visit. I have a plan in mind.” Shikamaru stated. 


End file.
